Passenger Trains > Best Viewliner bedroom: A or B?

I have a round trip to Florida coming up and I have never really bothered requesting a specific room number or letter.  Normally, for whatever reason, if I have a bedroom it seems to be, A.

Looking at the car layout, it appears that B is a better choice as the sofa faces forward.  Is that case?

Odd and easy question, but legit!  Thanks in advance!!

 

The problem is you don't know which was the car will be facing, so you don't know which room the couch will be going forward.   I like B just so you only have one shared wall instead of two (A shares a wall with B and H).

Its correct you really have no idea which direction the car is facing, however its much more common for the cars to be facing bedrooms forward, so A is backward on the couch and B is forward. H would be the first room in the car in this orientation. 

This is what I have noticed just through observation.  Normally room H is leading the car.  With Amtrak nothing is universal it seems.  And not sharing two walls is good!  

Thanks for the input!


Amtrak-P42 Wrote:
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> Its correct you really have no idea which
> direction the car is facing, however its much more
> common for the cars to be facing bedrooms forward,
> so A is backward on the couch and B is forward. H
> would be the first room in the car in this
> orientation. 

Viewliners generally operate with the vestibule facing forward. They are a lot more consistent than Superliners.

When faced with what Viewliner Bedroom to get, I always try for Bedroom B. At one point, and I am not sure why, Viewliner Bedroom A would sometimes be at a lower price than some roomettes (supply/demand, whatever etc.). That's about the only time I wold book Bedroom A. But just keep in mind that the orientation of the car can be reversed, especially if they swap between the Lake Shore Limited in Sunnyside Yard (for some reason).  

I had A on 448 a few weeks ago. The couch was facing forward.

Posted from iPhone

On train 48/49, Bedroom H and Bedroom B couches always were facing in direction of travel in my experiences on this train.  

So a quick call to Amtrak:

"Yes sir, I can move you to B.  However, the fare goes up by $300.  Shall I charge your card?"

"No.  That is ridiculous, I am moving next door, your inventory does not change."

"I am sorry, sir, that is what the computer says."

AN HOUR LATER, I called back, new agent.  Done.  No extra charge.  Amtrak inconsistency has always frustrated me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/21 13:42 by Chessie1963.

Chessie1963 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So a quick call to Amtrak:
>
> "Yes sir, I can move you to B.  However, the fare  goes up by $300.  Shall I charge your card?"
>
> "No.  That is ridiculous, I am moving next door,  your inventory does not change."
>
> "I am sorry, sir, that is what the computer > says."
>
> AN HOUR LATER, I called back, new agent.  Done.
>  No extra charge.  Amtrak inconsistency has  always frustrated me.

This has always been a huge training issue for Amtrak customer service.  You just have to tell them, "no you can change a room for no charge".  They will either figure it out or get you to someone who can figure it out.

True.  But I've never run into such an issue with an airline. It's not rocket science.  After 5 decades it's time to get it right.